The present invention relates to an ink cartridge attachment/detachment device which loads an in cartridge into a main body of a recording apparatus by sliding the ink cartridge, to a recording apparatus having such an attachment/detachment device, and to a liquid ejection apparatus having such an attachment/detachment device.
Such a liquid ejection apparatus includes not only a recording apparatus, such as an ink jet recording apparatus, a copier, or a facsimile machine, that ejects ink from a recording head serving as a liquid ejection head to record images on a recording material, but also an apparatus which ejects a liquid corresponding to an intended purpose, instead of ink, from a liquid ejection head, which corresponds to the recording head, onto an ejected liquid target material, which corresponds to the recording material, to attach liquid to the ejected liquid target material. In addition to the recording head, the liquid ejection head can be a color material ejection head used for manufacturing a color filter for a liquid crystal display, an electrode material (conductive paste) ejection head used for forming an electrode for an organic EL display or a field emitting display (FED), a bio-organic ejection head used for manufacturing a bio-chip, or a sample ejection head which ejects a sample as a precision pipette.
A description will now be given for an ink jet printer as an example of an ink jet recording apparatus or a liquid ejection apparatus. A comparatively large pressing force is required to load an ink cartridge into an ink jet printer. When separate ink cartridges are provided for individual colors, the pressing force of about 4.9 to 6.9 N is sufficient. However, since a single package type ink cartridge with ink cartridges for a plurality of colors integrally formed includes a plurality of needles are provided, for example, in case of six colors, seven needles (for six colors and a waste ink tank) are provided, a very large pressing force of 34.3 to 48.3 N is required. Such a large pressing force can be exerted so long as; the ink cartridge is loaded vertically. However, when the ink cartridge is loaded by sliding the ink cartridge in a horizontal direction, an unnatural force is also imposed on the ink jet printer. Accordingly, the application of a large pressing force is practically impossible.
Disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an ink cartridge attachment/detachment device that uses leverage principle to obtain a large pressing force. According to this device, the rotation of a cartridge attachment/detachment lever is transmitted to a link plate to enable unlocking of a link lever and loading of an ink cartridge into a holder. However, this device is one developed for loading of ink cartridges for individual colors, and does not provide the large pressing force required to cope with a single package type ink cartridge with ink cartridges for a plurality of colors integrally formed. Further, if a cartridge attachment/detachment lever and a link plate are provided for each of the color ink cartridges, the number of parts may be increased, and the costs for parts may be higher.
Further, a cartridge which is being loaded or has been loaded is subjected to force for pushing the ink cartridge back from a flow path member connected to the ink cartridge. Therefore, in order to load the ink cartridge and maintain the loaded state, the pressing force should be greater than this force. Otherwise, a gap may appear between the ink cartridge and the flow path member, and contact points provided for the ink cartridge and the flow path member would be shifted, making it impossible to detect the residual amount of ink. Further, a position shift of the contact points may also occur due to a variation in size tolerances for the parts. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a configuration which provider such a large pressing force and maintains a close contact state.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-11-157094